Never Give Up

This is a ministry and mission based at the Belfrey that reaches out to homeless, addicted, and lonely people in York through the provision of a cooked meal every Thursday. Meals are served at table and we attempt to create a family atmosphere, where people are welcomed and valued. Our volunteer team sits with the guests, sharing the meal and listening to people’s stories. Many of our guests really value having people who will care enough to listen to their situation.

As well as providing a hot meal, we also share the gospel message each week through a 10 minute talk at the beginning of the afternoon. The meal is served later, so this part is purely optional and for those who really want to know more. We have a majority turning up for this time and we are seeing people grow bit by bit in their knowledge of Jesus.

We believe that the love of Jesus Christ poured out in people’s lives through the Holy Spirit has the power to completely transform.

‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners'Luke 4:18

How to get involved

None of this could happen without our amazing team of volunteers. There is a great atmosphere in the team with all the people supporting each other. Some of our volunteers have made the transition from being guests, others have come from a church background. Would you like to join us?

We would love to have enough volunteers to have permanent prayers in the upstairs room!

If you think you could fulfill any of these tasks please let us know by contacting: Paul or Liz.

Alternatively come along on a Thursday at 4 and see first hand what Never Give Up is all about!

Giving

It is hard to know how to meet need when you see people sitting shivering on the streets. Giving money directly to those on the streets is strongly discouraged by the council as it gets spent on the wrong things and encourages more people to beg. However a £5 donation to Never Give Up will provide hot meals for a guest for a month – and a lot more! Money given specifically for this purpose can be placed in a St Michael-le-Belfrey giving envelope marked specifically NGU and handed in during services, when the church is open or at the parish centre. It would also be possible to set up a standing order for this purpose. Other gifts that are appreciated are toiletries, warm gloves and hats in the winter and underwear, particularly socks. These could be placed in the dustbin marked Never Give Up in the narthex of the church. Please do not give clothes as we cannot store them. The Salvation Army or Carecent at the Central Methodist Church will gladly accept them.